


Bruises and Broken Feathers

by Yourwritersblock



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Mentions of Riko Moriyama, Pining, Raven!Andrew, Raven!Neil, serious injury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 22:33:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16396343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yourwritersblock/pseuds/Yourwritersblock
Summary: The pool of blood he was lying in was already cold, but the agonizing pain in his side kept Nathaniel on the ground. The cracked rib was probably the worst of his injuries, but the knife slashes across his stomach and chest still stung with the freezing metal they had been torn open with.The locker room door swung open and Nathaniel lifted his pounding head as it clicked closed again. Andrew sauntered towards him and leaned his weight against the black tiles on the wall. “That took longer than expected.”A Raven AU in which Neil pines and Andrew can't keep his eyes away from the stubborn backliner.





	Bruises and Broken Feathers

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Come find me at yourwritersblock on Tumblr! I always appreciate comments, even if they're just to rant at me <3

The pool of blood he was lying in was already cold, but the agonising pain in his side kept Nathaniel on the ground. The cracked rib was probably the worst of his injuries, but the knife slashes across his stomach and chest still stung with the freezing metal they had been torn open with.

The locker room door swung open and Nathaniel lifted his pounding head as it clicked closed again. Andrew sauntered towards him and leaned his weight against the black tiles on the wall. “That took longer than expected.”

The first few times Andrew had sought Nathaniel out after Riko had come for him, Nathaniel assumed he was coming to gloat, but the distinct lack of delight at Nathaniel’s pain on every occasion had tentative hope unfurling in Nathaniel’s chest. Jean would probably kill him if he knew that despite everything, Nathaniel was happy to see Andrew.

 Nathaniel rolled his eyes and struggled into a sitting position. Black spots rushed into his vision from the sudden movement and Nathaniel blinked them away. “You’ve got to stop antagonising Riko,” he said, pressing his fingers against a particularly deep gash. The bleeding had mostly stoppered. “You know he always comes after me when you piss him off.”

 “Well, he can’t exactly pull this on someone who is here willingly,” Andrew said. “Isn’t this usually the part where Moreau patches you up?”

 “He’s probably still annoyed with me about an argument we had before Riko summoned me.” Jean was always particularly unsympathetic when they argued about Andrew. “I can probably stitch most of this up myself anyway.”

 “Good luck with that. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

 Andrew wasn’t wrong; Nathaniel could feel the edges of his sight blurring. He leaned more heavily against the wall and willed the dizziness away.

 “No sharp comeback?” Andrew feigned surprise.

 “Unfortunately I’m pushing all my energy into not bleeding out. I’ll make sure to be more entertaining when I’m not sitting in a pool of my own blood.”

 Andrew grunted, dropping to a squat in front of Nathaniel, unconcerned about the blood under his shoes.  “He’s really not good for you.”

 “You make me sound like a battered wife,” Nathaniel murmured. “My first aid kit is still in my room.”

 “Aren’t you?” Andrew asked, and Nathaniel's eyebrow furrowed before he caught back onto the conversation.

 “That implies at least some level of emotional connection,” he replied after a moment, “I wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole.”

 “Is there anyone you have an emotional connection with?”

 There was a warning in Andrew’s voice, but Nathaniel couldn’t stop his eyes from dropping down to Andrew’s lips for a split second before they flicked away. “Does it matter? I’m Riko’s property. Nothing would come of me becoming attached to anyone.”

 Andrew hummed and swept his gaze over the worst of the blood stains on Nathaniel’s shirt. “Take your top off.” Nathaniel slouched further against the wall, exhaustion and wariness pulling at his bones. “I can’t stitch you up if I can’t get to the wounds.” He gestured lazily to Nathaniel’s first aid kit on a nearby bench at Nathaniel’s raised eyebrow. “Jean shoved it into my hands when I went to ask him where you were. Heaven knows why he thought I would help you.”

 Nathaniel grinned, “isn’t that exactly what you’re doing?”

 The flat stare Andrew sent him only caused his grin to tug more fiercely at his cheeks. After a moment Nathaniel forced his body back onto its own weight and he slowly peeled his shirt off. His whole body was screaming at him by the time he got his arms past his shoulders, and Andrew yanked his shirt off the rest of the way. Nathaniel flinched at the sudden pain of the fabric being pulled from his torn skin, but his stomach settled at the fact Andrew hadn’t drawn it out.

 “Can I touch you?”

 Nathaniel shrunk in on himself. “Above the waist only.”

 The request had Andrew’s expression darkening, but he pushed himself into a standing position and grabbed the kit from the bench. Nathaniel traced the outline of his broad shoulders under the harsh florescents and his throat tightened. He couldn’t read into this and he couldn’t hope for this, and the realisation sent an ache through him that was far more severe than the cuts and bruises littered on his skin.

 “Have you ever stitched up a cut?” Nathaniel asked as Andrew dropped back down into his original position.

 Andrew appraised him for a moment before lifting his shoulder into a shrug. “Once on myself, a few times on Aaron.”

 Nathaniel knew about Andrew’s twin from the few times Andrew mentioned him, but he had only done so a handful of times during his three years at the nest, and never to anyone other than Nathaniel as far as he knew. “Okay,” he said, mirroring Andrew’s shrug, “I trust you.”

 Andrew’s hand shot out and grabbed Nathaniel’s jaw, fingers digging painfully into his skin. “You shouldn’t,” he growled. Nathaniel kept his eye, and Andrew turned his face away before releasing him, leaving Nathaniel staring at the door. “Don’t look at me like that.”

 “Like what?”

 “Like you think I’m some kind of answer.”

 They lapsed into silence as Andrew dug around the kit looking for disinfectant. When he finally fished it out, along with a needle and thread he moved onto his knees. Andrew assessed the damage for a moment before pressing his hand against a seeping wound and pulling his bloody fingers away. He contemplated the dark liquid dripping down his thumb before smudging it against an untouched part of Nathaniel’s chest. Nathaniel glanced down to see Andrew had drawn a smiley face just below his collar bone. He threw a flat look at Andrew, who was staring at him with blank hazel eyes.

 The disinfectant stung like his mother’s slaps, and Nathaniel gritted his teeth at the first press of the needle against his skin. Andrew was surprisingly gentle as he stitched up a particularly deep gash on Nathaniel’s side, and Nathaniel relaxed as Andrew moved onto the next, and the next.

 He had lost track of time before Andrew punctured the silence. “I can stop,” he said at length, “I can stop my outward hostility towards Riko. This is the third time in the last two months he’s done this.”

 “No,” Nathaniel said, surprised at his lack of surprise at the word, “Seeing Riko humiliated is worth this.”

 “Martyr,” Andrew muttered. He was almost done with the last cut, and Nathaniel’s heart started to race as the prospect of this quiet moment drawing to a close. Andrew ghosted his finger over the wound before picking up the scissors to snip the thread. Nathaniel shivered at the contact.

 “I have a test in the morning,” Andrew said as he moved away from Nathaniel. The _I should get some sleep_ was left implied, but Nathaniel rolled his eyes anyway.

 “Like you won’t ace it with your perfect memory whether you’re exhausted or not.”

 Andrew narrowed his eyes at the statement and Nathaniel flushed. “I noticed you barely look at the briefs the Master foists onto us but you always know the other teams exact plays and heights.”

 “Interesting,” Andrew said. He glanced at the door before leaning back into Nathaniel’s space. “Can I kiss you, yes or no.”

 The floor tilted at Andrew’s request but Nathaniel forced himself to nod. Their lips met in the space between them. Nathaniel gasped at the contact, and Andrew took the opportunity to push his tongue into Nathaniel’s mouth. Nathaniel couldn’t understand how a man who showed so much contempt and disinterest could kiss like his life began and ended with Nathaniel’s mouth, but he found himself pressing deeper into it. Minutes were days, were years, were the seconds swallowed by the breath between their lips.

 A bang sounded somewhere outside the locker room and Andrew pulled away. Nathaniel took in his flushed face and blown pupils and knew that he probably didn’t look much better.

 Andrew stood in one fluid movement and stalked out of the room, leaving Nathaniel to clean up the mess. Nathaniel stood up to start scrubbing down the blood, and wondered what he would have to do to get Andrew to kiss him again.

 


End file.
